Perth – Extras (I)

We’ve got 3 cameras working during our Perth trip, so now I’ve gotten the photos from my sis and Vincent from China, I’m going to post just a few. Below photos are those I picked and considered them precious. (:

Pictures sequenced not according to timeline.

Kids just wanna have fun with dough!

The roos (:

Ethan helped us with grocery shopping. Not.

Look at her pouch. Spot the little roo's legs!

The fierce Dingo I mentioned.

Hungry? Probably.

Guinea Pig and Bunny. Think of getting a GP? Get a bunch instead and start a farm! They look so contented together, really (:

My love for Barn Owls started from here.

Addressing issues for a psychological relief

First I will not make things emotional. Second I will not whine. Third I need to declare my needs because my non verbal cues don’t seem to get much of a feedback I needed.

I acknowledge that I am being a prude in group assignments without being told. This is hard on me too, I am very conscious on how I use ways to communicate better but I always have anger issues to ruin my patience with. I am addressing this issue to my group mates who feels being threatened to work with me under stress. If I have the choice, I do not want to be the decision maker.

Chuan Ling, if you’re still sane enough to read my blog: Don’t disturb me with your messages and don’t bother calling anymore. My ignorance is clear enough to tell you that this is over. Things have changed. Accept and face it. You have been a psychological threat to me.

Thirdly, an issue with the elder sibling. I urge you to acknowledge that I am not a doormat, I don’t like people to walk into my room and take things away. I feel exploited and my resources are running dry when my obvious retreat is my computer, my room and my privacy. You always wish to support me. But you never did the right things.

I feel that birthdays and celebrations have become a social obligation. I feel that things are not genuine anymore. For mine, it was like a judgement day for me, a harsh one. Can’t say that I was allowed to be disappointed.

In one of online distributed questionnaire I’ve participated for a senior, my results indicated that I have a risk of being depressed and I am advised to be seeing a counselor. And I am in denial.

I am not very good with saying words of affection and showing it. In fact, I try to avoid the situation whenever possible. But I am not any different than other social beings to have a need for love, approval and support. My side of the wall is higher but if you’d be more assertive to break over, my heart is all out for you. I have never tried crying on shoulders; but I heard it feels good.

I did not write an emotional post. I did not write an emotional post. And I did not write an emotional post.

This post is for you :D

On second thought, I thought this present is for myself

If you don’t get it in within 10 days, well at least you’ve got knowing how it looks like.

Alahhh, what I wanted to say, is said in the letter enclosed with the wrapper. Happy 20th birthday! (: I wish you well, Pui Mun.

A week at Perth (IV)

Day 7

Paid quite a costly price just to enter the Caversham Wildlife Park. Watched some birds, roos and wallaby as the koala gate was still closed. I have a thing for Masked Owl (Barn Owl); I think they look really elegant with  the masked appearance and white feathers.

*Why so scared*

Was a bit late for the farm show and missed the introduction. Had a fun time watching the demonstration where the sheep was shaved *poor sheep* and milking the cow after the show was over.

Demonstration of sheep shaving.

Another animal show was an hour more; the koala entrance gate was finally opened so we went inside. However, the koalas were still sleeping and we could only gently stroke them using the backs of our hands.

Tasmanian Devil. Not what I expected like in the Looney Tunes though.

Wombat! See the resemblance? :p

This park is never an average visit-to-the-zoo. I’ve never seen so many guinea pigs in my life, not even in the pet shop. And they stay in a large area of hay together with other rabbits. You just can’t keep your attention to one because they’re so cute in a bunch. White Llama looked elegant to me; White Dingoes are graceful but not when they are provoked (Vincent growled and irritated a Dingo, not a wonderful experience to watch its sharp teeth ) *Thank God for the electrical fencing*

We had our lunch at mom’s friend’s. Heard jokes about Singaporeans buying apple strudels in bulk from Corica . Had a good time spending with uncle and aunt; the world’s so small we came to realize that the uncle is actually a good friend of my lecturer’s since young! *coughs* Dr. *coughs* Goh.

Beef and wedges *drools*

Apple Strudel.

Time to walk around! We stopped our car at Wellington Street and took a bus to Harbour Town Shopping Centre. Walked around, then again settled down for a coffee break. Had Japanese food for dinner.

At night, we packed our stuffs and divided our share of wines. It was too much to bring back, we had a booze later that night. I slept early since we had an early flight to catch next morning.

Day 8

Cold morning. Had our last Perth coffees brewed by Yen at the airport. Thanked Yen and Alex. Bid Perth goodbye. Reviewed my goals of this trip. Wombats: Checked. Possums: Checked. Apple Strudels: Checked. Fat Strawberries: Checked. Cheap booze: Checked. Fremantle Fish & Chips: Checked. Hot guys: CHECKED!

A week at Perth (III)

Day 6

Finally had a good night sleep since last night we returned to Perth. Woke up in the morning pretty late today. Was told that we were going to meet friends today at Fremantle.

Walking across the street to Fremantle Markets.

It’s quite a nice place to walk and watch street performers busking. We took a walk inside hall looking at crafts, antiques, boomerangs and all kinds of local products. It finally allowed us to have done some shopping and bought souvenirs since we were pretty much exploring the outdoors and wild life for the past 5 days.

Coolest booth! Miniatures of guitars and drums. And he knows his guitars.

I have not once encountered grocer in PJ sing for me (well not like I visit the pasar lah), but at Perth I’ve been dedicated songs twice by these grocers; oh well, it sure is a brilliant way to get hold of customers. And I like the fact that they do sing great!

Look at the crowd! Don't buy his strawberries also cannot lah like that.

Street performance: Busking on Fremantle’s street

Fremantle fish & chips at Cicerello's. *Vincent wants some Chilli Mussels*

Watched the seagulls come flocking at tables after the people left their seats. Impressed by how smart they are judging the fact that they are birds yet they wait patiently enough till customers took their first foot out of the seats. Walked to Little Creatures Brewing for a beer moment.

Little Creatures Brewing. Flowing beer right from the tab!

We discovered things about my little nephew. We all knew that he likes to manja with pretty girls but little did we know that he’s into Caucasians. He was a downright philanderer judging how he could impress the chicks we met at the brewery. The mother of her two daughters even asked me for my email so I could send her the pictures of Ethan and her daughters.

I wondered if he had caused the sibling rivalry.

Took a walk at a park nearby. At night we drove to Burswood Casino. It was actually my first casino! Won AUD$ 16 that night, do you call that my virgin luck?

EL’s performance

Is it a coincidence that I like BY2’s, Jenny Yang’s and also this one? And EL, you do have a soothing voice.

A week at Perth (II)

Day 4

Feeding wild parrots in the morning.

Morning Pemberton! Went to Margaret River and our first visit to Mammoth Cave. It’s basically a walk inside the cave and we had MP3 audio headsets as our guide. There were numbers at every check point so you could press the numbers onto your gadget and you listen. Mammoth Cave is famous for it was home to many giant mammals proven by the leftover animal bones and fossils. We climbed the stairs up a doline and there we reached an exit which was on the other side of Caves Road. Walked past some old floras which existed since dinosaur age.

A walk in one of Margaret River's winery.

Had lots of wine tasting after hoping to one estate and another. We stopped by Margaret River Chocolate Factory for a chocolate treat.

Chocolate treats for you while you're shopping for more chocolates!

For display only ):

Our last wine tasting at Laurance Estate.

Shops here close at 5p.m so we had to rush our wine tasting and to make quick decisions on which wine to pick. -.- We ended up with good deals though- AUD$7.50 per 750 ml Chardonnay in cheers pack and AUD$12 for Semillon in no label bottles at Baldivis Estate; even have an overall discount and free wine stoppers (we bought in boxes that’s why).

At night we just know what to drink to keep ourselves warm.

Day 5

Rainy morning.

Windy morning with gentle raindrops. It was so cold that I didn’t even want to pee. -.-

After breakfast it was time to drive back to Perth. Along the way we saw wild kangaroos and even dead ones. It’s understandable just like dead cats you see here in Malaysia. Yada-yada, some followed to return the caravans and the rest just… sleep.

At night, Yen brought us to Mundaring’s Little Caesars Pizzeria. Their pizza ingredient varies from pumpkins, anchovies, oysters to honey icing sugar. The Great Eastern Highway street was fairly quiet and the only shop packed with Asians was in Little Caesars. This tells something about Asians and good food?

Dessert Pizza - Mudhoney with sugar icing

Went to Burswood Casino but it was too packed on a Saturday night. The bridge next to the farthest car park available was closed, so we took a picture and decided to come back the other night.

Burswood Casino at night.

A week at Perth (I)

Day 1

Reached airport and were brought to Yen’s rented house with the help of Alex, her housemate. Some took a short nap, the others went to collect our caravans and set up GPS in both caravans. Had Egg Benedicts for breakfast in town. Bought groceries, walked around and watched in awe walking through cottages with wonderful gardens. All prepared to go down south from Perth!

Two caravans going down south.

Stopped by a convenience store to have dinner. Reached Rose Gardens’ caravan park, Albany at around 11 p.m. It was pitch-dark, the person in charge came to warn us because caravans were supposed to be there by 10 p.m. and that we were disturbing his sleep. :p

Day 2

Rose Gardens Beachside Holiday Park, Albany in the morning.

Walked around the park, the nice little yellow flowers reminded me of “Fields of Gold” by Sting as we walked in fields of yellow…

Off we went Whale World as our first journey for the day! The guide talked about histories of whaling, Omega products, whale oil, bloody scenes where whales were hunted and brought up on shore at the whaling station. Whale fluid smells bad according to the guide but it was also used to make perfumes.

I only found interest in Sperm whale. Hehehe.

Cheynes IV. She was used for hunting whales.

After being educated on whales, dolphins and sharks, we hid in our caravans for food. After that we drove to The Gap.

The Gap was carved by the ocean from the granite rocks forming the coast and features a 50 metre drop to the ocean below. – Source

When we reached The Gap, my sister was reluctant to drive near the road where the waves surged and splashed the road wet. Anyway we got down from our caravans, I thought it was raining but it was actually the wind blowing ocean water onto the land! The wind was so strong and it was a one-time opportunity that we’ve got a stormy weather where the waves were strong and it kept splashing onto the granite rocks of 50 meters tall. Brother-in-law got splashed the most and he was happy with it. :p

The sky went dark in the early evening again. We went to town to have a coffee break and then drove back to our caravan park. The power supply in our caravan finally worked, and we were able to turn on our mini heater.

Coin operated washers and dryers

I supposed every caravan park has its own laundry services. There were these coin operated washers and dryers and it would normally take 30 minutes to wash and 15 minutes to dry (or 30 minutes if you want it completely dry). So we were all out of coins and we squeezed all our clothings and sweaters, even socks and undergarments into the washer. As inevitable as expected, half our clothes were wet, all were completely unwashed; even the washing powder could still be seen. We had to wash all the clothes ourselves. The water was freezing cold, my hands were all red and numb. We drank beer and sit beside the dryer. After 30 minutes, the dryer didn’t work well and our clothes were still cold and wet. We were pretty fucked up that night!

Day 3

Woke up feeling cold. Sis’ shirt got burnt because it was hanged right beside the heater; no big deal. :p Helped to keep an eye on Ethan when he tried to feed the seagull with bread. Head off to the nearest Hungry Jack to settle our breakfast. Then, we went whale watching on a yacht.

Bumpy rides.

Seadog who made us hot coffee and desserts!

We only managed to watch the whale’s tail slapping but no breaching. However, by surprise we were able to watch dolphins and sharks. We moved on to the next place, Walpole-Nornalup national park for a Tingle tree canopy walk. Passed by farms feeding cows, sheeps, goats, donkey and Llama! Went fishing at Nornalup Settlers Park and settled our dinner there.

My brother-in-law found a duckling under the fishing bridge and he carried it into the caravan for Ethan to see. Some other ducklings were quacking and we thought its mother was looking for the little duckling in our van; turned out not- we realised there were other 2 ducklings! I told Ethan that they were supposed to find for their mother, so we should leave those duckings there. Apparently the ducklings followed us back to our caravans. It was funny, we realised we have 4 ducklings now! They just quacked around the caravan. I led them back to the bridge once again with my torchlight, not long again they were back. -.- Until we decided to leave, my brother-in-law didn’t notice the ducklings were around his feet he accidentally stepped on one of the ducklings. Sad. Ewww.  I saw yellowish liquid. We were soon leaving and my sis decided to lead them away as far as possible since we were worried that it would die under the wheels of our caravans. When she was back, she told us that she saw a bigger bird which snapped on a duckling right in front of her. We left in a hurry because we didn’t want the two ducklings to follow along. We felt really bad for the ducklings We even thought of taking back the two ducklings to Margaret River next morning!

We headed to Pemberton Caravan Park to end up the night.

Therapy for self

As I travel back and forth between my internship at Wisma HELP and psychological services building at KPD B, I’ve been exposed to group discussions, workshops and also counseling. During the internship the toughest thing I’ve encountered was to continue overwhelming group discussions even when we were not at the same level of understanding; the bright side was that we were all independent workers for the research where most of the time we conducted discussions unsupervised by the lecturer and that we truly learnt so much about sex education and other more.

Meanwhile since I frequented the counseling and psychological services building (CPCS), I’ve came to know about workshops conducted by Master students. I myself had attended time-out workshop and also anger management. The similar aim of both workshops was to let us learn how we could rest and relax ourselves and getting to know how mindfulness could be beneficial for us.

In one of the workshops I was given a list of ”Fun Activities Catalogue” and this finally reminds me the purpose of living: enjoy, relax and have fun. Out of the 185 activities on the list, below are my chosen favorites:

• Going for a holiday
• Listening to music
• Spending an evening with good friends
• Eating (Dining and Wine! )
• Having quiet evenings
• Jogging (under the rain with cousin )
• Travelling abroad, interstate or within the state
• Sleeping
• Playing musical instruments
• Making a gift for someone (or buying/choosing)
• Going to plays and concerts
• Daydreaming
• Being alone
• Thinking about pleasant events
• Knitting/ crocheting/ quilting (though I have not learnt how to)
• Thinking religious thoughts
• Surfing the internet
• Getting a massage
• Playing with pets (if I have a dog!)
• Playing with my nephew and niece
• Buying things for myself

Telaga Tujuh, Langkawi.

I think it is important that we know what makes us happy and relaxed and we are willing to get in touch with our true selves apart from all the commitment from academics, work and other responsibilities. We all have the responsibility to our own happiness, no? What’s on your list?

Fell through like change in the daylight

Cause daylight feels like home.

In this picture one of us would leave to Leeds, another one is flying back to Canada as the next semester year begins. The rest of us would stay local doing what we were doing. One of us is majoring French language while the other is having her first semester year in Business Administration studies, as excited as she complains ’bout the mid term papers and assignments. Another woman complaining that she was not in the picture, is currently doing Sciences in NUS. If dawn is the beginning of life I’d would say the daylight is what I see of them now.

Meanwhile, Pen-the-cousin would also be packing for Birmingham… so much for jogging under the sun and rain (yes and we both feel very romantic-tak-tahan), eating Malay Kuih and drinking Soya from the Jenny Hong van and watching late-night movies.

Latest inside joke with Pen: A panting hot guy who jogged pass us before I tripped and fell flat on a slope.

September sounds horrible already!